I wish I had thought of this kind of art.

Today's presentation from Vladmir was probably my favorite presentation thus far. She is truly an artist who thinks outside of the traditional, conventional standards of artistic practice. Within her viewmaster art, she combines photography, 3D, sound, storytelling, and a bit of nostalgia to create a wonderfully interactive experience. I am one of those people who owned a view master many years ago, and finally picked one up again for the very first time today. I realized that it's a toy that I always loved, but never really thought about where they came from, or how they're constructed. I want to create my own viewmaster discs and corresponding story! Vladmir managed to think outside of the box, yet took elements that the general population has been familiar with for years.

The most interesting part of the presentation was the construction of the picture panels and packaging. The stories tied everything together and made it all work, but none of them struck me as particularily fascinating. They were fun, most of the time weird, and managed to tell a volumn of storyline in 4 short discs, but I gained the most insight from the aesthetic. I think it's interesting that when Vladmir initially attempted this endeavor, she did not realize the logistics of 3D angling, but rather stumbled upon it in the process. The mechanics of the art enabled two built-in perspectives that added tremendous depth to the story. Understanding those angles almost IS the art of the viewmaster, yet Vladmir possessed enough artistic intuition to piece together crucial elements as she went along. I think that sort of method produces some very interesting results, often times exceeding the creativity of a carefully planned venture.

The exterior packaging of the discs was a whole other art in itself. Each disc was carefully labeled and designed to coordinate with the container. As every packaging was passed to me, I began to imagine what the storyline would be like based on my impression of the artwork. Will it be gruesome? Humorous? Reflective? Then, as the storyline progresses, it as interesting to see how my first impressions were proved or invalidated, and to witness how the artwork was conceived. Often times, the imagery or color scheme of the outer packaging shell was derived from a particular scene in the storyline, or an important frame of events. Ultimately, the packaging provided an elegant and professional delivery, and unimportantly, it also gave me many ideas for painting my room.

It's refreshing to see artists out there turning perspectives of the world upside down. Excellent choice in guest artist.

camera obscuras

Now for my reflections on Ethan Jackson's camera obscura installation exhibit! Camera obscuras are actually something that I was previously unfamiliar with. The concept sounded familiar, but I had never seen the idea put into practice. I was excited to see something new, and Ethan's work definitely delivered for me. When I first arrived at the Kenilworth building, I wandered behind the curtains into the exhibit and looked at Ethan's camera obscura; however, I was not aware of the logistics of the set up! This is an interesting point to note, as I returned to the exhibit following Ethan's talk and explanation with a completely new view of his artwork. My first impressions of the work were of admiration. I immediately realized that the image that which I was observing was the reflection of Prospect Ave., upside down. I love urban imagery. I love the character that is diffused into work that serves to reflect urbanization.Therefore, I immediately took a liken to the work. I also really respect the power of natural lighting. These two factors combined beautifully in the projection. One thing I did not notice initially however, is the subtle movements occuring within the reflection. This would be something that I would learn in Ethan's talk about his work.

Ethan's portfolio work struck me as very impressive. He really had an eye for the beauty of variation over time. His most memorable work, the changing clouds over the chapel, reminded me of Nathaniel Dorskey's dissection of sight sensation or Brahkage's call for a "derangement of the senses." Camera obscuras provide an alternate way to view the world, outside of our rushed real time daily experience. As I watched all of his work as it looped on the screen, every new viewing revealed a new perspective that I didn't see the previous loop. In the chapel piece, the work was especially profound in that it invoked a spiritual aura often associated with chapels and other religious houses of worship. The movement of the clouds combined with the building structure threaded the mystical presence of a higher power with the reality of humans' place of worship on earth. The technique of camera obscura uniquely enabled this particular effect to be possible with its use of light, reflection, and control over movement rapidity.

Following Ethan's presentation, I returned to the exhibit room with a completely new and educated perspective. I noticed the camera holes in the walls, and the glass that made it all possible. I noticed the movement in the trees and how the combined cameras created a unique collage of overlapping images, comprising one large picture. I was able to appreciate the art and the effort that fused to construct such an experience. Ethan mentioned many times that camera obscura is a largely unappreciated art despite its accessibility. I hope to see more kinds of work like Ethan's in the future, as his exhibit and portfolio were rewarding to experience.

mary!

Ethan Jackson post coming next time...

It's about 50 minutes before I leave for Spring Break, which I feel is not enough time to dedicate to discussing Ethan Jackson's exhibit at inova/kenilworth. Hopefully, I will feel fully inspired to write about it as I'm on the road, watching the scenery subtly move and change over time (kind of like camera obscuras!)

For my trip, I will be going to Austin, New Orleans, and New York, bringing my video camera everywhere along the way. My favorite way to tape is gathering tons of footage, then putting together anything possible. I can tape footage traveling in the van, music festival footage from SxSw, Greyhound footage, and footage from New Orleans, when I get to see my old classmates for the first time since I left. It will be weird, thinking about this alternate universe that I left last April, by choosing to come to Milwaukee. I want to capture my experiences and impressions from there, a year later. I want capture my feelings as the occur, as they're happening. And I'm thinking that maybe I will be able to make a successful video out of such footage.

Wish me luck. I feel like I'm a crazy kid leaving in a stinky van to film a documentary. Hopefully the experiences will be fun and fruitful for interesting video making.

Mary!